Photographs — Rare books collections

The Advocates Library began to acquire photographs in the 1840s.
The National Library of Scotland has subsequently acquired a
miscellaneous and extensive collection, generally scattered
throughout both the printed and manuscript collections. Some are
gathered together at the shelfmark 'Phot.'

Earliest art historical book with photos

William Stirling's 'Annals of the Artists of Spain' (London,
1848, shelfmark: H.10.a.12-15), the earliest art historical book
illustrated with photographs, was presented by the author to the
Advocates Library on publication in 1848.

The copy at the National Library is one of 25 copies with extra
plates, taken by an assistant of William Henry Fox Talbot, who was
the founder of modern photography.

Rare and unusual books with photos

The greatest strengths lie in the collections of early
photographically illustrated books, many of which were acquired
through the legal deposit privilege.

These include Nasmyth and Carpenter's photographs in 'The Moon:
Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite' (London, 1874,
shelfmark: Phot.med.8) and Peter Henry Emerson's 'Life and
landscape on the Norfolk Broads' (London, 1889, shelfmark:
Phot.med.34).

An unusual item is 'A handbook of Greek and Roman lacing'
(London, 1869, shelfmark: Phot.sm.45) illustrated with cyanotypes
taken by Sir John Herschel, who invented this process. This is a
rare copy of the first edition of this book, annotated by the
author, Julie Herschel, Sir John's daughter.

Prints by early British photographers

Aside from this material the Library also has strong holdings of
early British photography, especially the work of Scottish
photographers, including:

Scottish photographers and photographs

The Library continues to acquire selectively the works of
Scottish photographers and other notable photographs of Scottish
interest. This policy has been developed in close collaboration
with the National Galleries of Scotland.

Notable acquisitions include:

A copy of William Henry Fox Talbot's 'Sun Pictures in Scotland'
(London, 1845, shelfmark: Phot.med.27) given by the photographer to
the Marquis of Lansdowne

A group of albums from the collection of James Bruce, 8th Earl
of Elgin, Viceroy of India, purchased with the aid of the Heritage
Lottery Fund and the National Art Collections Fund.

In December 2001, the Library acquired a previously
undocumented album of the Edinburgh Calotype
Club, dating from the 1840s. This was bought in conjunction
with Edinburgh City Council and with the support of the Heritage
Lottery Fund, the National Art Collections Fund and the Gordon
Fraser Charitable Trust.

Mountaineering and polar exploration

The Library's interest in works relating to mountaineering and
polar exploration are also represented by photographs. Of
particular note are:

Substantial holdings of the work of the English photographer
Samuel Bourne in the Himalayas

Substantial holdings of the work of the Italian photographer
Vittorio Sella in the Alps

The photographic archive of the American mountaineer Fanny
Bullock Workman.

These collections are supported by Scotland's largest holdings
of modern works on the literature of photography.